


A Half-Ghost's Promise

by grarnarye



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Fluff, It's mayumi's first time, Post-Canon, Snow Day, Touhou Kikeijuu: Wily Beast and Weakest Creature, Useless Lesbians, be gentle with her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22163950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grarnarye/pseuds/grarnarye
Summary: Youmu bristled, her face turning red almost all at once. “M-Miss Yuyuko! It-it’s n-not like that!” She stammered out, struggling to keep her voice down.“Oh?” Yuyuko smiled that same coy smile from before. “Well, alright. Just an outing between friends then. I understand,” she finished with a wink._______________________________________________________Mayumi reveals that she's never seen snow before. Youmu sees to it that this changes before the end of the day.Written for @nanocornalter on twitter for a Touhou secret santa! I put a lot of love into this one. I hope you all enjoy reading it!
Relationships: Konpaku Youmu/Joutouguu Mayumi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	A Half-Ghost's Promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NanoCorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanoCorn/gifts).



It was another peaceful day in Gensokyo. The air was calm and crisp. Autumn was winding down, with the telltale signs of winter taking over. Frosted dew, breath was visible in the air-- the region was gearing up for another cold season. Not even the Netherworld, a realm apart from Gensokyo, could escape the biting cold. However, this was not an issue for the two girls currently sitting near the top of the many steps of Hakugyokurou. 

Youmu Konpaku, the half-ghost attendant of Hakugyokurou’s shrine, stifled a giggle. Across from her, Mayumi Joutouguu talked animatedly about nothing in particular. They were both layered rather excessively in winter clothing at the behest of their masters. It may have been a bit awkward to move, but they didn’t dare complain to their respective retainers. They would undoubtedly lose that argument, anyway. 

“Why do you even have winter clothes on? You don’t really feel it, right?” Youmu asked. She rubbed her hands together, despite them being mittened.

“Well…” Mayumi, the terracotta soldier, hummed. “I suppose not directly, but my surface does contract slightly if the temperature drops below a certain threshold. Miss Haniyasushin worries about me cracking, so she insists I wear…” She gestured to her overdressed self. “This.” 

“You’re even wearing those huge snow boots,” Youmu pointed out, undeterred.

Mayumi blinked, looking down and inspecting her foot. “Snow boots? Is that what these are?” 

“What? Did Miss Haniyasushin not tell you what they are?” 

“N-no. Was I supposed to ask?” Mayumi looked away, embarrassed. 

“...I don’t think so?” Even Youmu was beginning to doubt herself-- had their two retainers planned something behind their backs? “I can go back and get mine?”

“I, um! I don’t think that will be necessary!” Mayumi quickly exclaimed, catching Youmu’s hand as she half-ghost moved towards the shrine. “Besides, i’ve never seen snow before, but I--”

  
“ _ What?! _ ” Youmu was face to face with Mayumi in seconds, a look of abject terror plastered across her face. “You’ve never seen snow before??”   
  


Mayumi shook her head frantically. “N-no, no! Was I supposed to?” 

“Well, no, but that’s still unfair!” Youmu declared, grabbing Mayumi’s hands in her, her eyes lighting up. “I swear on the Konpaku clan’s name that I will show you snow before the end of today!” 

“Oh? O-oh! Um, excellent!” Mayumi nodded with as much gusto as before, transfixed on Youmu’s determined eyes. Youmu nodded back just as fervently, giving a bright smile. Mayumi smiled back, but she couldn’t help but voice the nagging question in the back of her mind.

“So, how will we find this snow?” she asked.

Youmu blinked, her eyes all at once losing that determined luster. Then, her face flushed just as quickly, as if she was only just aware of how close she had gotten. She yanked her hands back from Mayumi’s. “Well, um… good question…” When Mayumi stared at her as if looked at her puzzled, she kept going before trailing off; “W-we could start by asking Miss Yuyuko for help...”

“Oh, can she make it snow?” Mayumi asked curiously.

“Uhm… In a sense?” Youmu shrugged, hoping that her master might have some hidden cold manipulation powers. She was a ghost, after all, so she didn’t think it was too much of a stretch.

**❆❆❆**

Apparently, it was too much of a stretch. 

“Sorry, dear, but I just can’t do something like that.” Yuyuko said, her voice carrying the same elegant and airy quality it always had. 

“A-ah…” Youmu nodded meekly.

Yuyuko took a sip of tea, closing her eyes and appearing to think about something. 

“But it snows here, sometimes…” Youmu hesitantly added.

“Mm.” Yuyuko set the cup back down onto the kotatsu and smiled at the two of them. “I don’t control that, I’m afraid. You’d have to wait until the winter months.” 

“I see…” Mayumi nodded diligently. She stood behind Youmu, stood straight with her hands behind her back; a perfect military posture. “So that’s how it is…” 

“Right…” Youmu probably shouldn’t have expected much, she thought, but it was worth a shot. She turned to look at her companion. “Sorry about that. I just got overexcite--”

“However.”

Youmu clamped her mouth shut. Upon Yuyuko’s interruption, she swiveled back to look at her, and what she saw was… a little unsettling. Her master was still smiling, but it was more coy. She knew that smile well; Yuyuko presented herself as an airhead on the surface, but she was far more cunning. 

“...Miss Yuyuko?”

“If you wish to find snow early, there is  _ one _ method I can think of…”

Youmu and Mayumi said nothing, waiting expectantly for Yuyuko to continue. The ghost, however, simply snapped her fan open and covered her mouth. She hid her expression and waved it gently, simply blinking at the two waiting girls.

Mayumi started, “Miss--”   


“Dramatic effect,” Youmu explained.   
  


“Ah.”

After a sufficient amount of silence, Yuyuko continued; “In a cave, off the shores of a certain lake, there is one who controls the winter. She hibernates during other seasons, but if I know her, she should be waking up soon. If you were to, perhaps, incentivize her, she might be willing to put on a show just for you. A personal snowfall, you could say.” 

Youmu nodded and listened diligently. “Who is this person, Miss Yuyuko?”

“Her name…” She snapped the fan closed, revealing her full visage, her mouth drawn into a serious line… “Is Letty Whiterock. The yuki onna.” 

Youmu froze. “The-- the y… yuki onna? As in… a-a--”

“A ghost, yes.” Yuyuko nodded, gravely serious. 

The half-ghost let out a small squeak despite herself. Mayumi glanced over to her, her brow creased. “Youmu, are you alright?” 

Youmu laughed nervously; with how shaky it was, even the haniwa, with her little experience, could tell that something was wrong. Despite this, Youmu responded; “I-I, uh, I think so. ...B-But, uh, Miss Yuyuko--” 

“Ah, right. Youmu, may we talk in the other room for just a second?” 

Youmu took a moment to process this, still stammering out an excuse. “Um?”

“We’ll be a moment, dear,” Yuyuko said to Mayumi. In the next moment, she was up, leading Youmu out by the arm and closing the sliding door behind her, leaving a confused haniwa to contemplate just what’s happening. 

  
  
  
  


Once in the other room, Youmu was quick to voice her concerns. “M-Miss Yuyuko--!” She blurted out, but was quickly silenced by an index finger. She stared at it and then, nodding, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

Once she was a little more composed, she tried to start again, at a whisper this time. “Miss Yuyuko, you know that I am… e-extremely afraid of ghosts! This is a terrible idea!” 

“Youmu, dear, I understand, but I’m trying to help you. You made a promise to that haniwa, yes?” 

Youmu nodded hesitantly, after a moment. 

“And you want to make her happy?” 

Youmu nodded again, increasingly unsure about where this was going.

“And you wish to impress her so she’ll think of you in a cool way?”   
  


Youmu began to nod again, but stopped herself. “What are you implying?”

Yuyuko arched an inquisitive eyebrow, resting her fan against her chin. “This is a date with that haniwa girl, is it not?”

Youmu bristled, her face turning red almost all at once. “M-Miss Yuyuko! It-it’s n-not like that!” She stammered out, struggling to keep her voice down. 

“Oh?” Yuyuko smiled that same coy smile from before. “Well, alright. Just an outing between friends then. I understand,” she finished with a wink.

“M-Miss Yuyuko…” Youmu protested weakly, attempting (unsuccessfully) to will the blush from her cheeks. 

“Regardless,” Yuyuko continued without any regard to Youmu’s current state, “I believe it would be good for you to show your bravery. Think of it as a test of courage.” She tapped the closed fan against her servant’s shoulder, snapping Youmu’s attention back to her.

“Um. R-right!” Youmu nods, straightening herself. The blush was mostly gone from her cheeks now. “I’ll do my best to fulfill your request, then.” 

“I know you will, dear,” Yuyuko hummed. “One more thing, though…”

“What is it, Miss Yuyuko?”

Yuyuko’s smile softened to something much more genuine. “That haniwa girl seems to care for you a lot. Do your best for her as well.” 

Youmu’s blush returned somewhat, though she didn’t protest this time; only a small nod. “I… o-okay, Miss Yuyuko. I’ll try.”

**❆❆❆**

Mayumi and Youmu slipped through the barrier between Hakugyokurou and Gensokyo quietly. Yuyuko warned them that the yuki onna was more dangerous than she looks, so they came prepared. The ‘incentive’ she mentioned earlier was strapped to their hips; the Netherworld’s third finest sake (according to Yuyuko, at least). They brought their weapons strapped securely to their back as well, in case of emergency--Youmu with her Roukanken, and Mayumi with her lance corporal’s baton. Youmu lead the way towards their destination, Misty Lake. The cold wind whipped against her face, turning it red. 

“Youmu?” Mayumi called out in front of her. 

“Hm?” Youmu shouted back. 

“What did you and your master talk about?” 

Youmu silently thanked the cold air. “U-um, nothing important. It was just a pep talk.” 

“Is our enemy really that dangerous?”

“Apparently!” 

“Good to know!” 

Youmu gave a thumbs up, internally sighing in relief. As they lake came into view, she slowed her flight speed to fly side by side with Mayumi. She leaned in and whispered to the haniwa. “We’re almost here… Be careful, though. There’s a really rowdy fairy that lives around here and likes to cause trouble. She even froze my tongue to a popsicle, once.” 

“R-really?” Mayumi said, with genuine concern. “How horrible…”

“Y-yeah,” Youmu said, willing down a blush. “It’s fine, though. Let’s just go carefully.” 

Mayumi nodded, and they began their descent, keeping a safe distance around the perimeter of the lake. Mayumi spotted a rather blue-looking fairy sleeping on the shore (“Is that her?” “Yeah, that’s her.”), but the trip passed, thankfully, without incident. The pair descended to the entrance of the cave. Youmu was, admittedly, more than a little nervous, and being so close to their supposed goal increased her anxiety by the second. The cave itself was rather unassuming, but on an overcast day such as this one, it was almost impossible to make anything out past the first 10 meters or so. It seemed to become a yawning abyss, threatening to swallow her fears whole-- and herself along with them. 

On top of this, Yuyuko’s pep talk had done little to assuage her fear of ghosts. But, the stakes demanded that she fought through it. After all, the one whom she was doing this for was just a couple meters away. The last thing she wanted was to do something lame at a critical moment like this. Steeling her gaze, Youmu took a deep breath and knocked on the entrance to the cave.  _ Knock. Knock. Knock. _ Each tap of her fist echoed against the walls tenfold, making the cave seem even more endless than before. She swallowed thickly, but she pressed on.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” The half-ghost said, her voice echoing into the depths of the cave. Just to be safe, she waited for a response; but there was none, even after a full 30 seconds. She glanced back to Mayumi, sharing a look of worry, and tried again.

_ Knock. Knock. Knock. _ They waited with bated breath, but it was the same result; no response. 

“...We may have to step inside,” Mayumi said.

“It… does seem that way, y-yes,” Youmu replied. 

They shared a look.

Youmu looked away, adjusting her winter hat. Now wasn’t the time to be noticing how adorable Mayumi looked, but there she was. Boring her gaze into the cave and absolutely nowhere else (and certainly not stealing glances back at Mayumi’s expectant face), Youmu took a step inside the murky cave. Her boot clicked against the hard stone flooring, and… nothing else. 

“...Well!” She laughed to herself slightly. “I thought it was going to be trapped or something. This isn’t so b-”

Youmu was unable to finish her sentence. The very next moment, a huge swathe of white exploded from the entrance of the cave, engulfing Youmu with a soft  _ fwumpf _ . Mayumi blinked, processing what just happened.

“Y-Youmu!” She yelled out-- before she could act, though, a low rumble emanated from the inside of the cave, a voice following shortly after. And then... 

“You all better have a  _ good reason _ for disturbing my nap.” A foreign voice came from inside the cave, the echoes giving it a booming quality. 

Mayumi wasn’t sure what was happening, but she quickly thought; this was clearly dangerous, so she had to play it safe. Her warrior instincts began chugging in the back of her head. Still crouching, she crawled over near the entrance, not daring to peek in. 

“Ma’am!” The haniwa began, “Who are you and what did you do to my friend?” 

“Who am I?” The voice responded almost immediately. “I am Letty Whiterock, and your  _ friend _ stepped foot into my resting place. You’re lucky I didn’t freeze her where she stood.” 

“...Letty Whiterock?” Mayumi repeated aloud. The pieces clicked into place in her mind. “U-um, Miss Whiterock! Don’t hurt her any more, there’s been a huge misunderstanding!” 

This time, Letty didn’t respond at first- when she did speak, she seemed to be much closer to the entrance of the cave. “A misunderstanding? The only kind of misunderstanding that occurs around here usually ends up with humans dead.”

Mayumi resisted the urge to shudder. This was clearly an intimidating foe, if her words were to be believed. “We-we just wanted to speak to you. We’re not human, Miss Whiterock.” 

“...Oh?”

Mayumi nodded. Realizing Letty couldn’t see that, she said, “Yes. Um, my friend you just attacked is Youmu. My name is Mayumi.” 

“...I don’t recognize your name,” Letty said, and a moment later, the sound of footsteps could be heard getting closer. Mayumi sensed that she was safe for now, so she walked in the direction of the entrance in order to see what she was dealing with. 

In front of her was Letty. Based on the stories Mayumi had heard, she was definitely a yuki onna, seeing as she had the telltale white cap, but everything else…

“Why are you wearing pajamas?” Mayumi asked. 

Letty shot a glare back. “What, do you really expect me to sleep in my day clothes?” 

“Right. Um,” Mayumi said, unsure of where to continue. She had to admit, it was a little hard to take her seriously in that outfit. Just then, She hard a soft  _ pff _ behind her-- Youmu’s head was now sticking out of the white pile, surprisingly not worse for wear. 

“Oh! You’re okay!” Forgetting about Letty for a moment, Mayumi ran to Youmu’s side and knelt down. The white substance crunched under her, but she didn’t pay it much mind. “What happened?” 

Youmu shook her head, getting the excess off. She looked thoroughly unamused. “Got blasted with snow. No big deal, really.”

“Hey!” There was a shout, and both the girls turned their attention back to the offender; Letty. She had her hands on her hips, her glare intensified. “Are you really gonna wake me up a whole 3 weeks early and then ignore me?”

“Oh, um. Sorry,” Mayumi said. She looked to Youmu for guidance, but she looked equally dumbfounded-- however, after a moment, something clicked and her eyes lit up. 

“Oh, yeah!” Youmu said, climbing out of the white mass. “We were wondering if you could make it snow here.” 

Letty looked thoroughly unimpressed. “Is that it? Really?”

“We have sake.” 

“...I’m interested.” 

“...That was very easy.” Mayumi observed.

“Alcohol gets you far in Gensokyo,” Youmu pointed out. She brushed herself off and turned her attention back to Letty (but not directly. She didn’t want to see those ghostly legs, no thanks.) and said, “We have two jugs from the Netherworld. Can you just, um, make it snow for a bit? My friend here hasn’t seen it before.” 

Letty scrutinized the two of them. “Where’s she from? The other one, not you.” She points to Mayumi. 

“I’m from the Beast World, ma’am.” Mayumi said.

“...Huh. Never heard of it. It doesn’t snow there?” 

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Sounds like a crappy place to me.” Ignoring Mayumi’s hardened gaze, she went on. “Since I’m awake, I might as well do it. Can’t pass up on some good booze.” She rubbed her hands together, adding, “You kids might wanna step back a few feet.” 

“We’re not kids,” Youmu insisted, but complied all the same.

“To me, you are. Now shut up, I need to concentrate.” 

Making sure they obeyed, Letty continued to rub her hands together slowly. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. As she did so, the very air around them began to drop in temperature at an alarming rate. She gathered more and more cold energy, drawing it towards her person. The air itself was beginning to crystalize around Letty, giving her an ethereal and intimidating aura. When she was satisfied, she opened her hands and clapped them together; all at once, the energy dissipated, a wave of biting cold in all directions. Besides that, though, no immediate effects were obvious. 

“...Um--”

Letty cut Youmu off. “Give it a few seconds.” 

Youmu huffed and looked up… but just as she did, her eyes widened. She felt a cold flake touch against her skin. Just as fast as it was there, it melted-- but more were beginning to take its place. Small white flakes drifting lazily from the sky when there was no such thing just a few moments before. It really was snowing. 

She couldn’t help it. A grin formed on Youmu’s face, almost stretching from ear to ear. She felt absolutely giddy; not because she hadn’t seen snow before, but because-- She turned to the object of her affection. “Mayumi! Do you se--”

The rest of her exclamation was caught in her throat. Mayumi was fixed in place, staring up at the sky, her eyes wide as saucers and shining brightly. She didn’t blink, even when a flake would occasionally land on her face; she was utterly transfixed. It was like Youmu was watching a child experience the world for the first time. 

Without looking up, Mayumi said, “So… this is snow…” She sounded like she was in disbelief. 

If Youmu could choose one moment in time to freeze forever, it would be this one. 

“Right, this is cute and all, but are you two lovebirds done yet? I was promised some sake.” Letty said.

If Youmu’s blush could melt snow, she would have been instantly dry. 

“ _ B-be quiet! _ ” 

❆


End file.
